Life is a beautiful sport

« If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try. » Seth Godin (a markerting genius)

« I’m not what i’ve done, I’m what I’ve overcome. »

To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another. ~Katherine Paterson

« I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. » Frank Herbert

“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” Steven Pressfield

“Waiting to develop courage is just another form of procrastination. The most successful people take action while they’re afraid!” ~ Unknown‎

“I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.” ~ Dawna Markova

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I can’t stand a speech with a denomination of structured and previsible arguments, but i can follow a story with real people during hours. I am sure you all remember a moment you were hipnotized by someone telling a story…

First, let’s do an quick experience and take a look at this video :

So inspirationnal.. the viewer-experience is great, but why ?

3 reasons.

– Stories are about people

Story directly involve humans. We can directly identify into Sean’s story. I had the feeling to be directly involved in his fight against cancer. It’s fascinating. We were all climbing the everest with him. By using a story, the arguments and values you want to support become evident.

Even if people became more and more individualist, it seems to me we still have a kind of connection with every human. A natural and true human relationship. Beyond the social classes barriers and « professional » attitudes. Beyond cultures and languages.

– Stories are about emotions

By listenning to the story, you are able to feel the emotions of the man. You will remember the feeling of Sean when he knew he had the cancer, as well as when he made his come back ! It is still a matter of identification. Those emotions are the perfect way to make people listen to you and the best way to convince them.

– Great stories are authentic

People love stories, real ones, not only advertisement stories that we immediately recognize as fake ones ! we can’t invent great stories, that’s it !

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Brands are now trying to establish who they are through manifestos: simply state what they believe and why they do what they do. Here are my favorites:

Quiksilver

The North Face

(RED) Products

Those manifestos are really inspirational and drive the stakeholders of those companies. This is why they wake up everyday to sell those products!

But why companies or charities are the only organizations to create manifestos?I think that we should all have a manifesto that illustrate our vision of what the world is, of what animates our mind and get us on fire! We are all brands and your values should be clear to you. Everyday, without exception. How? connect dots.

With every book that you read, every quote, every article, every video, every brand manifesto you love, make a summary of what makes you cry, yell and hit the wall. Then, read it everyday when you wake up, no exception. It will become a part of you and give you confidence on who you are and what you want to achieve.

Here’s mine.

Trust yourself. Failing is not trying. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Purpose before self. Start something that matters. No great thing is created suddenly. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.Give more. Light your candle with their torches.

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Last week, I made a speech at the college I’m currently studying in. The subject was “Globalization, impacts and responsibilities”. Here is the less boring part.

« We strive to show a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our company
and for the communities in which they live. »

That sentence takes part of the Ben&Jerry’s mission statement. Make sure that their business participates in a good way to their stakeholder’s life; make sure that they improve society both globally and locally. They donate 7.5% of their profit to charities and plan to only sell products from fair trade by 2013. At the same time, the company created in 1978 in Vermont is very profitable and reached 132 million $ of revenue in 2012!

Wonderful example to set up the idea I want to defend: doing well by doing good is possible! The capitalist vision created by Wall Street on companies that have to be cruel to make a profit is wrong. Establish a social cause associated to the business is possible.

That attitude is called corporate social responsibility: how the company supports its stakeholders. Companies are now trying to make a profit but also to make something positive for the society. Social responsibility is now an overarching goal that supports the business.

Last week I attended a conference animated by Liz Bohannon, founder of Sseko design. During a trip in Ouganda, she decided to set up a business locally with women that have a 9 months gap between the end of Highschool and College. Her business is profitable and provides jobs to 50 people in Ouganda, improving their lives and participating to the development of that poor country. She understood that being a for-profit and having a social cause are not opposite.

Interesting thoughts from that wonderful entrepreneur:

Big corporations such as Nike or Sony are also implementing strong programs so be socially responsible. And they are leaders in their industries.

Here are the 2 main benefits of CSR:

– Reputation in the consumer market

CSR has the ability to build up a brand or damage it almost instantly.

Social responsibility adds value to the product. Sseko design doesn’t only produce sandals and bags, they give the opportunity to people to permit those women to go to college and pursue their dreams, which makes a difference. We care about the core goals of an organization when we are making our buying decisions. We are looking for peope who “believe what we believe”!

Thus, it directly impacts customer retention and customer loyalty. B&J’s has a real community of customer that promotes the brand and protects its image!

– Reputation in the labor market

The motivation of employees is enhanced by the core values of the company. They must be animated by a common goal and an answer to the question “why?” Why the company is producing those products? What is its impact on people?

Those answers give sense to the day-to-day work of an organization. Furthermore, a good reputation in the labor market will attract new talents that will push the company to do better. Google is ranked as best company to work for according to Fortune. The leaders of that company deeply believe that happy employees and partners is good for business! It explains pretty well why they are that innovative…they attract all the best talents!

There is a clear link between the social footprint of a company and its financial situation. CSR was considered as a cost resulting from environmental and social laws. It is now a valuable investment that can have a clear impact on sales!

What if making good things could make your business grow? It changes everything.

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Free Love and Sharing are becoming scarce elements in our monotone and stressed countries, jobs, cities… rare but not impossible to find!

I had the opportunity to participate to a Color Run last week in Richmond (Virginia) as a volunteer with my great friend Meagan (her twitterblog and website! ). One of the most craziest and wonderful experience in my short life!

Simple concept for a meaningful impact : Thousands of people running for happiness and charity during 5k (CHAT). Each kilometer people get blitzed by the staff, the volunteers and sponsors with 5 colors! Great music and hyper energetic volunteers during a few hours.
The result is more than simple: a wonderful sharing experience between the 9000 participants. Everyone forgets his day-to-day problems and enjoys the moment! what a blast!

As volunteers and more specifically « Captains of Fun », we were totally involved in the process of delivering love and happiness to people! High 5s and great hugs were mandatory ! I loved it. Seing those smiles in every young, old, red, blue, pink, green yellow faces was unbelievable.

3 keys to their success:

– A race with 9000 winners: the staff is focus on delivering the same fun experience to every color runner ! no competition, only sharing.

– A global experience: that sharing experience starts from the application to the race til the runner leave the place of the run! They join the color runners community and from the minute when they arrive at the race, the staff is at the disposal of the participant for any help, from the water to take a picture, from an high five to a huge group hug! After the race, the party is crazy and the runners dance in a color sky!

– When an sport event becomes a brand: the color run is more than a race. It is a real philosophy around happiness and fun. The unique experience provided and a wonderfully designed event create a special relation between the crowd and « The Color Run » Brand. People are attracted by the « why? » of the race, which is creating the happiest 5k in the world.

The Color Run is currently present in the US and soon in Australia. Meagan and me will do our best to get it in Europe and globalize the color runners community. If that project goes somewhere and another article will come out quickly… 🙂